The New York Giants won their second consecutive game on Sunday, defeating the Washington Redskins, 41-35, in overtime at FedEx Field.
Here are three takeaways.
Giants provide some false hope again
The Giants scored a season-high 41 points, eclipsing the season-high 36 they scored against Miami last week. Optimists will say the offense is gelling at the right time — Saquon Barkley is back, Daniel Jones is coming into his own and the offensive line is firing on all pins.
Pessimists will say the Giants are beating up on teams that are built to lose, unlike themselves. The fear is now that they steal win against the Eagles next week at home, finish 5-11 and out of the top 5 in next year’s NFL Draft, and…the late-season winning streak also spares the coaching staff from the axe.
Defense played well, but don’t tell the scoreboard
The Giants allowed the Redskins to score 35 points in this game, by far Washington’s best output of the season. Considering the Giants won the first meeting, 24-3, in September, that’s a huge turnaround. This can be chalked up to several things.
It was rookie on rookie out there when the Redskins had the ball. They started rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins and their three top receivers — Terry McLaurin, Steven Sims and Kelvin Harmon — are all rookies and tight end Hale Hentges is as well.
The Giants countered with three first-year players in their secondary (Sam Beal, DeAndre Baker and Julian Love) and the offense won out, it seems. The Giants needed to score 41 points to win this game because the defense is so disorganized and confused, there is no way they can give a consistent 60-minute effort. It will probably get better, but don’t fool yourself in thinking this is a defense on the rise.
The Giants won’t finish last this season
Big Blue avoided their third consecutive last-place finish by sweeping the Redskins and dropped to fourth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft seeding. Will that be good enough to snare Ohio State edge rusher Chase Young? Let’s see.
Cincinnati (1-14) clinched the No. 1 overall selection by losing a wild game to the 4-11 Dolphins in Miami on Sunday. They’ll likely take quarterback with that pick. Many are thinking LSU’s Joe Burrow, the Heisman Trophy winner.
Washington (3-12) is next and depending on who’d calling the shots next season, could be the landing spot for Young. They likely won’t take a quarterback as Dwayne Haskins appears to be catching on.
Detroit (3-11-1) played the last half of the season without Matthew Stafford (back) and could be tempted to grab, let’s say, Tua Tagovailoa if he’s staring them in the face here at No. 3.
The Giants will then have the pick of the lot. Quarterback is out, so the general manager — whoever that is — will likely entertain a trade first, then grab the best player available if no trade is made.
